Ottawa auto show: Five updated compact cars to check out

These affordable compacts have all been recently refreshed

Small cars make up a huge part of the new car market in Canada. Per capita, Canadians buy more compact and subcompact cars than Americans, which is enough incentive for manufacturers to, occasionally, sell a small car here that can’t be had south of the border. The latest such example is the 2015 Nissan Micra, which we included in last week’s list of the top 10 new cars to see at this year’s Ottawa-Gatineau International Auto Show.

None of these cars is unique to Canada, but here’s a handful of recently-updated compacts worth looking for on this year’s show floor.

Toyota Corolla

The Corolla is the butt of a lot of “boring-car” jokes, a reputation that’s not entirely unfair. Its predictable reliability and simplicity are what make it a predictably strong seller, year after year. A redesign for 2014 hasn’t made the Corolla exciting, but it has made it a better value, and a much better car to drive. One surprising standard feature is LED headlights, a bit of tech that only started showing up in luxury cars a few years ago. Besides that, the styling is actually interesting to look at, and the quality of the interior components is a notable cut above last year’s model. Corolla still isn’t the best value in this class, but a longer list of standard features and a better driving experience has it making a stronger case for itself as a value proposition. The entry-level CE trim starts at just under $16,000.

Once you’ve designed a car as distinctive as the Soul, there’s only so much you can do to update it. That’s the story for the 2014 model, which Kia says is all new, and yet remains so familiar. Its dimensions are similar, but the new styling rounds off a few edges and gives the car a more substantial look. For the $17,000 starting price, this is a well-equipped car, but typically, you’ll pay extra for niceties like air conditioning. You can now option a Soul up to $27,000 with Xenon headlights, heated steering wheel and heated/cooled front seats, but this boxy number makes more sense at the lower end of its price range, where its family-friendly interior space and decent fuel economy make it an attractive alternative to pricier SUVs and crossovers.

2014 Mazda3 GTPHOTO: Brian Harper for Driving

Mazda3

Mazda went from compact also-ran to critical favourite in 2004, when the Mazda3 replaced the Protégé. The 2014 model year brings the third generation of this car, which carries on the 3’s tendency for above-class looks and feel. The Mazda3 comes in at the same starting price as last year’s model: $15,995 for the sedan, and a thousand bucks more for the hatchback. We like the outside better than the interior, where the dashboard centres around a display screen perched atop the dash like an afterthought. It’s also not the most spacious small car, but you may not mind that once you’ve driven it: Mazda’s SkyActiv engines and transmissions are efficient and engaging, and you won’t find many other $16,000 cars this rewarding to drive enthusiastically.

For some time, if you wanted a small car that drove like something more expensive, you went to a Volkswagen dealership. This German brand no longer corners that market – thanks to the Mazda3, among others – but it still holds its own. For this 2015 redesign, VW ditched the thirsty five-cylinder that had been the mainstay of the Golf and Jetta lines since the mid-2000s. In its place is a much smaller turbocharged engine that nonetheless makes similar horsepower and more torque, with the promise of much-improved fuel economy. Not to disappoint diesel fans, the Golf will once again be available with VW’s excellent TDI engine, as well as a choice of six-speed manual and automatic transmissions. Uniquely in a small hatchback, VW continues to offer the Golf in two- and four-door body styles, with pricing starting at $18,995.

The 2014 Hyundai Elantra GT GLS still looks great, and is practical as always. But it now has the sport cred to boot. And that’s a win-win.Handout /
Hyundai

Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai’s Elantra isn’t brand-new for 2014, but it’s been refreshed in a bid to keep it top of mind among compact car shoppers. This car sells well mainly because of its attractive price, but it’s an efficient daily driver and looks distinctive, all things that contribute to it challenging the Honda Civic for the title of Canada’s best-selling car. Also new for this year is a 2.0-litre engine exclusive to the top-trim Limited model, giving that version a notable power boost over the 1.8-litre used in the rest of the line. The Elantra stands out for its availability in three body styles: sedan, coupe and hatchback. Pricing starts at $15,999.